Our Summer
by lillybang
Summary: Shukaku has a mating season, meaning that Gaara has a mating season. Too bad that sexy diplomat in green spandex just happened to arrive during this season and now Gaara can't stop thinking about Lee.
1. Prologue

Beta'd by Rockleerox93, thanks again :D  
><strong>Usual disclaimer:<strong> Naruto does not belong to me.

OUR SUMMER

For as long as Gaara could remember, he knew that the others thought that he would amount to nothing. He was seen as a simple sacrificial piece; he would not be mourned or missed when his demon, Shukaku, would eventually consume his soul.

Nine long years had passed since the Yondaime Kazekage passed away, leaving his responsibilities as leader of the village to be bequeathed by his son. The son, however, was considered too emotionally unstable to become the leader of Sunagakure. Locals said that he wasn't strong enough to lead a village, let alone tame the demon Shukaku. But in reality, Gaara was the stronger of the two. Gaara was still the sole bearer of the Shukaku, and while in a deep state of relaxation, he was actually able to physically communicate with the great chakra beast within him. Upon the surface, everything seemed calm and serene almost, but within Gaara, the Shukaku within him was awakening his libido – with or without its owner's consent.


	2. Chapter 1

Beta'd by Rockleerox93, thanks again :D  
><strong>Usual disclaimer:<strong> Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER ONE

Our story begins at the Kazekage mansion, the grandest and most important building in all of Sunagakure.

During one of the hottest weekends in the shinobi world, the Hokage, Naruto, had kindly invited Gaara to be a guest in his village in order to escape the sweltering heat of the Kazekage's desert land. Gaara had spent the past night in his office in order to make sure that all paperwork that was required to be done before the new week arrived, would be completed before his departure to Konoha – in fact, he had spent the past three nights surrounded by looming towers of paperwork. Still, duty calls.

As the Sun reached the point that marked midday, Gaara moved towards the window in his office that overlooked the entire village. The first settlers who had came to Sunagakure, were lost wandering travellers who were in desperate need of water. Luckly, they had stumbled upon an oasis with lush green grass lining a stretch of flat land that had a river. Along where the modern border of the village was now, there were towering pieces of sandstone with narrow grooves running across the rock that suggested that there was once – perhaps millions of years ago – a great river that flowed across the land.

After the settlers arrived, they harvested crops on the land and reared livestock to make a living. Over the years, the supply of water in the river quickly diminished. The farmlands were first to succumb to the ravages of the sun's heat that caused the water shortage, which in turn, killed off the livestock. The once abundantly fertile soils of what was once Sunagakure long ago, was now fine sand and clay that dried hard under the intense sunlight of the day.

For nearly 300 years the old village had laid at rest with a dead oasis, until a small group of wandering shinobi saw that the sandstones surrounding the land could provide excellent protection against an enemy attack. The settlers soon built up a small, modest sized village and managed to tap into an underground water supply. That was how the modern day village of Sunagakure was born.

Besides numerous offices and meeting rooms, the Kazekage's personal residence was also hidden deep within the Kazekage mansion. He had requested that both Temari and Kankuro meet him in his residence (which was also the residence in which they lived.) There, he briefed them on their responsibilities to the village during his short absence. Both of his siblings had insisted on accompanying the young Kazekage on the trip to Konoha, but Gaara politely refused and stated that with the Shukaku's power, he was virtually untouchable.

"_Temari. I __do __not __need __either __you __or __Kankuro __to __accompany __me __to __Konoha,_"_Gaara __executed __confidently._

"_But __Gaara, __what __if __you __get __captured __or __killed? __Remember __the __Akatsuki __invasion __six __years __ago?_"_she __said, __a __tad __panicked._

"_Irrelevant, __their __attempts __of __kidnap __were __unsuccessful, __and __the __Akatsuki __are __gone __now__…__along __with __Uchiha __Sasuke,_"_said __Gaara._

"_I __say __it __was __luck,_"_Kankuro __muttered. _

_Gaara shot his brother a menacing glare, _"_I am going to Konoha alone. You are both dismissed._"

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>Their residence was located on the opposite end of the entrance to the Kazekage's building, meaning that if any invasion arose, the intruders would have to navigate themselves through the entire building, which would immediately alert the security shinobi of their presence.<p>

The Kazekage slowly opened the front door of what was known as the 'Sand Siblings' residence. Inside, he saw Kankuro fiddling with one of his puppets, carefully applying deadly poison to the tip of one of the spikes that stuck out menacingly from the rest of the puppet's body. Temari was tucked away inside her room, engrossed in reading a ninjustu tactics book, determined that she would have a rematch with Nara Shikamaru some day.

"I'm home," said Gaara to neither of his siblings in particular. Kankuro took at brief glance at his younger brother before returning to his work, he sighed and walked towards Temari's room.

"Temari," he said.

"Oh, Gaara," she replied – blushing slightly as he noticed her growing interest in picking holes in Shikamaru's speciality shadow manipulation jutsu's.

"I am leaving for Konoha now," he said as he removed his prized Kazekage hat, and gently placed it onto her head – her high pigtails catching the hat, causing the head dress to balance upon them.

"You are in charge now."

"Wait! Gaara! I still don't think this is a good idea. Please, let me or Kankuro come with you," she begged, advancing towards the bedroom door as she did so.

Gaara slowly opened the door, refusing to look at his sister, but even so, he was greeted with Kankuro's unpainted face.

"Why do you want to go Temari? I thought you hated Konoha! You kept complaining about how cold it was when we were there last," Kankuro interjected.

Temari crossed her arms across her chest, "I am only thinking about Gaara's safety."

"Oh, so this has nothing to do with seeing that Shikamaru?" Kankuro smirked.

Temari narrowed her eyes at Kankuro and pulled the Kazekage hat resting upon her blonde hair down firmly, "No, my reasons for visiting Konoha are purely professional. That is all."

Gaara pushed past Kankuro and made his way back towards the front door, he looked at his two bickering siblings with something close to despair. He then gazed around the apartment. A small kitchen and dining area with a small cactus plant sitting on the top of the fridge. A tatty brown sofa was leaning against the far right wall, and Temari's bedroom door was next to the fridge, and both Kankuro and Gaara's bedrooms were set opposite of her room and the kitchen. He knew it would take at least ten minutes for both his siblings to realize he had already departed for Konoha.

As Gaara exited the Kazekage building, he descended a large flight of stairs that led into the streets below. The place was filled with shinobi and civilians alike, all milling around on market day. Despite what Gaara had expected, this part of the Hidden Village was particularly quiet, and there was something in the air that made Gaara want to take his time weaving across the village. He passed a kunoichi, one he did not know by name, talking to another shinobi of a similar age – together they were laughing on this beautifully hot summer's day, electricity sparkling in their eyes.

The ground beneath him was dry, as was to be expected from the desert like climate of Sunagakure. The clay soil that coated the surface of the streets cracked slightly with every footstep, he noticed that a drainpipe from one of the shops was leaking, each droplet of water bringing an oasis to that small patch of dry earth. As he advanced further north, he approached the main streets where most of Sunagakure's market stalls were. Gaara enjoyed visiting the stalls on Market day – especially when he was wearing civilian clothing (like he was doing today), even though there was probably a 50% chance that he would be recognized and dragged away to do something that was listed in his duties as Kazekage.

"Ah, Kazekage-sama," a male stall owner smiled as the Kazekage passed – in a show of respect, Gaara bowed at his greeting and moved along.

"Gaara-sama!" cried a young female shinobi, who stopped short at his feet and latched herself onto his right leg – feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Gaara attempted to remove the child. A woman, perhaps the girl's mother, came dashing over toward them.

"Rei-chan, leave the Kazekage alone. I am sure he is very busy," she grinned at him, but there was a subtle hint of fear in her smile as she wriggled the child off Gaara's leg.

"My hero," murmured Rei against Gaara's leg – she fell to the ground as her mother finally pried her off.

The mother took her daughter's hand and led her off, "I'm so sorry, Kazekage-sama."

Since the Akatsuki's attack on the village six years ago, Gaara's tale of bravery for his protection of the village had made him something of a hero. Initially, on most days, he would be mobbed by the teenage chunins, who would clutter the corridors in the Kazekage building with themselves, and leave little presents for Gaara – he once found a pair of underwear with a date and address written on the fabric. Since then, these '_mobbing's_' had become more subdued and the teenage girls of his time had grown up and found men of their own to idolize and love.

As he continued strolling through the village, he passed the village's only ramen shop, the place where Naruto had nearly replaced his entire bodyweight with ramen on his last official visit. It was practically impossible to pry the Hokage away from his beloved ramen. The smells of the simmering sauces and the bubbling noises of the water filled the Kazekage with nostalgia. He considered Naruto his friend – if not his best friend because he understood him. He understood what it felt like to be an outsider, an untouchable person, a leper in his own village while others pretended to empathise with his situation.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>As he approached the main entrance to the village, he ascended a flight of stone steps. Doing so, he turned his eyes back to the village, and watched as the silent breeze above the buildings carried sand across the village. He passed between the narrow space of two great slabs of sandstone that protected the village, and waltzed by several of the village security shinobi who were currently on duty, before reaching the vast open plains of the 'Desert of Wind'.<p>

What spanned between Sunagakure and Konoha was an immediate desert land, where very little organic life, besides cacti, sprouted up by the sides of the highway. As he looked onward towards the horizon, he was reminded of all the times he had taken this route – either solo or with his siblings on the road to Konoha. Every couple of meters, he would see a rickety wooden frame acting as a fence dotted along the sides of the roads. He soon quickened his pace as the sight of sand dunes became more frequent, meaning that he would soon be approaching the vast forests in the Land of Rivers. When the village received official visitors, they often commented on the natural beauty of these sand dunes, where the tiniest grains of sands drifted along in a sweet beat with the wind.

After nearly half an hour on the highway to Konoha, Gaara reached a large clearing that formed a circular shape. He had often wished for this area to become a small training area for the village, but seeing how it was laid outside of the village borders, he was unable to do so. He paused for a moment and gently kicked over a mound of sand, watching as it fluttered around in the gentle breeze. Suddenly the floating sand began to move more rapidly – a sandstorm was fast approaching. He headed over towards the opposite side of the clearing where two great towering pieces of sandstone would provide sufficient temporary shelter for the Kazekage. He continued running across the dirty paths, eager to reach Konoha. After an hour or so of running, he reached the first crossroad near the Land of Rivers, the opposite path led to a known Akatsuki hideout.

He continued heading east until he could see the vivid colouring of the luscious green grass of the forest that laced the outskirts of the Land of Rivers. Coming from a desert climate, he appreciated the cooling sensation in the air whenever he travelled either to the Land of Rivers or Konoha, even if it did take several hours to acclimatize to the savannah climate. Inside the forest, the canopy above made the shrub layer considerably darker than it had being before he entered the forest, but after leaving the desert plains of his native country, the sandstorm was no longer an immediate threat.

Dusk was covering the skies in the Land of Rivers, and Thursday was quickly coming to an end. Because it took nearly two days to travel from Sunagakure to Konoha, the Kazekage had chosen to depart from his Hidden Village in order to reach the neighbouring Hidden Village in just over a day. He removed his travelling cloak, folded it neatly into a pillow-like shape, and settled it onto the ground. Before retiring for the night, Gaara summoned a small amount of sand that was mixed with clay and silt soil, and moulded the mass into a bubble-like defence that would protect the Kazekage while he slept.

* * *

><p>FRIDAY MORNING<p>

* * *

><p>Gaara awoke to the sound of the forest animals communicating with one another. He dispelled his sand shield and stretched gently, looking up at the canopy layer of the forest as the morning light filtered through the leaves. He fastened up his travelling cloak and leapt up into one of the trees above, and travelled by jumping between branches until he reached the Hidden Village. As he advanced toward Konoha, he couldn't help but replay in his mind the first time he had visited Konoha with the intention of completely annihilating the village. He did not object to the proposal of attacking the village, on the contrary, he was bubbling with excitement to unleash all of his hatred onto the unsuspecting citizens of Konoha. At that point in time, Gaara had very little control over Shukaku. The demon was the one that swayed Gaara's opinions easily, which amounted in a plot to destroy Konoha. His mind had also been cast back to a time when he had been ordered to assist the Konoha cell that was in pursuit of the rogue ninja, Uchiha Sasuke. Gaara still had some bitter feelings towards Rock Lee, but it was his duty to aid the Konoha shinobi. It was then that something occurred to him. Although Lee wasn't the most handsome of shinobi... he was somewhat suave, and was something that he, <em>or <em>_rather __Shukaku_, had being longing for.

Gaara dismissed this thought. It was true that he and Lee had parted, not the best of terms – but Lee didn't seem like the type to hook up for one night stands.

After another two hours of travel, Gaara reached the end of the Konoha highway and leapt to the ground. He was faced with yet another crossroad, one path leading off towards a training area where Gaara knew Lee, in particular, trained frequently. He continued heading east towards the Hidden Village, strolling with a moderate pace as the afternoon sun began to beam down on the Land of Fire. He was soon greeted by the grand gates of Konoha with two large letters painted in red on lime green wooden doors. He noticed a tall blond figure standing beside the left gate, holding the hand of a violet haired woman. Beside her stood a pink haired woman that Gaara immediately assumed to be Sakura. In the blink of an eye, he noticed that Naruto had disappeared. The violet haired woman acted startled, and as Gaara turned his head slowly and saw his blue-eyed friend beside him.

With a friendly hand on Gaara's shoulder, Naruto smiled.

"Welcome back, Gaara."


	3. Chapter 2

Beta'd by Rockleerox93, thanks again :D  
><strong>Usual disclaimer:<strong> Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER TWO

With some caution, Gaara followed Naruto obediently through the main gates of Konoha. Together they walked silently through the village, passing a small book shop which had an 'Icha Icha Tactics' poster stuck onto the glass window. Soon after passing, there lay a large bridge that overlooked a river that passed through Konoha. Gaara could see small wooden boats skimming the water's surface, glistening underneath the midday sun.

After the Kages crossed the bridge, they passed Konoha's well known BBQ restaurant (and it was no surprise to either Gaara or Naruto that Chouji was standing proudly outside waiting for his Genin team to arrive.) They then passed Ichikaru's, which was where the two departed. Gaara placed his right hand onto his hip and sighed as the Hokage disappeared inside, Naruto shouted out the directions to where he would be staying and that they would catch up later in the Hokage building.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>After some time, Gaara eventually found the apartment where he would be staying as an official guest in the village. He guessed from the littered ramen packets, that this was the apartment in which Naruto had lived in before he had become Hokage. He flicked the light switch on after stumbling over an old, tatty orange, jumpsuit. He carefully manoeuvred his way towards the bedroom and found a set of civilian clothes folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Since he had brought no luggage with him (besides the clothes on his back), he presumed that the emotions he was feeling were that of gratitude towards Naruto (which made up for the fact that he had abandoned him in a foreign village).<p>

After familiarising himself with the surroundings and layout of Naruto's old apartment, he gazed out of the window, which faced the prestigious Hokage building. He sauntered down the stairs from the apartment that led down onto the streets of Konoha. He passed by Ichiraku's and noted that Naruto was no longer there and then passed the neighbouring Yamanaka floristry shop. He then passed underneath an archway where directly ahead were two separate paths that eventually led to opposite ends of the village. He took the path on the left, which headed directly towards the Hokage building, and whilst in a semi-conscious daze, he almost knocked into an elderly woman sweeping leaves away from the entrance to her shinobi tool store. And there it was – that black lettering of the title of Hokage that signified everything that the shinobi of Konoha stood for.

Very little had changed since Gaara had last visited the Hokage building. There still worked the same Chunnins, filling out various pieces of paperwork. The same distressed cream coloured wall, and the same lime coloured doors. He knocked gently on Naruto's door before proceeding to enter with two Konoha Chunnin. Naruto immediately dismissed them both. Naruto leaned back smugly in the respected Hokage chair.

"So, how are you finding Konoha?" he asked.

"Considering the cooler climate, I am content." Gaara replied.

Gaara began fidgeting with his hands, concerned, Naruto asked, "Is something wrong, Gaara?"

At first, the Kazekage seemed somewhat hesitant to reply to the Hokage's question, but after a minute of silence he responded, "Naruto, lately I've being feeling confused – erotically charged if you must."

"Okay…" replied Naruto sensing that this conservation would quickly become awkward.

"It seems that the Shukaku has some sort of mating season in which I too must engage in with another sexual inter-" Gaara continued.

"Okay! Okay, I get it! Dattebayo!" cried Naruto as he mockingly covered his ears – as if he had something of his innocence to protect.

"So how do you deal with it?"

"I'm married now, so it's not a problem. Sometimes I come home after a long day and all that is on my mind is to sexually ravage Hinata and-" Naruto cut himself off as he saw Gaara wearing a look of both shock and appal.

"You're not a virgin are you?" asked Naruto, leaning forward in his chair slightly – Gaara blushed.

"…Ah, I'll set you up with someone then. Perhaps one of Ero-sennin's favourite call girls…" Gaara winced at the proposition.

"Not a fan of prostitution?"

"No, it's just… Girls just don't do _it_ for me," said Gaara.

"Not a problem, just come down to the bar tonight and we'll get you so drunk that you won't even know what you're doing," Naruto replied with a reassuring yet sinister smile.

Gaara smiled back feebly to reflect his lack of faith in Naruto's 'plan.'

"Okay, I will see you there then."

Naruto waited until the Kazekage had left the building to add the last piece of the speech.

"Or who."


	4. Chapter 3

Beta'd by Rockleerox93, thanks again :D  
><strong>Usual disclaimer:<strong> Naruto does not belong to me.  
>WARNING: use of swear words and implied sex.<p>

CHAPTER THREE

After spending several hours of contemplating on whether or not to go to the bar for a hook up that night, Gaara had changed into the set of civilian clothes Naruto had left on his bed. Before leaving he noted that his bed was not a single sized bed as he had expected. Instead, it was a king. Gaara laughed quietly to himself as he walked out of the apartment.

"I wonder what Naruto thinks will happen tonight."

After leaving the apartment it began to rain heavily. Grey covered the skies above Konoha and it seemed to Gaara that the water falling from the sky would never cease. Luckily for the Kazekage, Naruto had lent him a long sleeved black tunic that was loose enough to pull over his head and keep his cherry coloured hair dry (although to Gaara, it made very little difference.)

Said bar was located near Ichiraku's in a narrow alleyway. The building had reasonably small windows and a beech coloured door. With caution, Gaara entered. At first, he was overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol and the static-like feeling lingering in the air caused by the thunderstorm outside.

"Hey! Gaara! Over here!" Gaara immediately knew that it was the blond Hokage calling him over towards the bar.

He rolled his eyes and slowly moved over towards him, "Okay, I'm here."

He made his way towards a large rectangular shaped table tucked away at the back of the bar where Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sai, Neji, Ino and Kiba sat. Each with their own shot glass ofsaké.

"Hi, Gaara!" the table said in a gleeful chorus.

Gaara simply nodded and sat in the empty seat beside Sai and poured himself a shot of saké. He felt a warm sensation as the saké travelled down his oesophagus. It was a pleasant taste...with the fragrance of apples and grapes entwined together. He never had warm saké before (since it was always too hot in Sunagakure to have any kind of warm beverage, especially during the summer months.)

"Hello, Kazekage-sama," Sai said while smiling at the Kazekage as he downed his shot of saké.

Gaara wiped away the alcohol that had trickled slightly down his lips, "Er, hello."

"Naruto-kun tells me you are here for the whole weekend," Sai said, yet again, pouring another shot of saké for himself and Sakura.

"That is correct," Gaara replied, hoping that someone, _anyone_, would get Sai away from him.

"Naruto-kun also tells me that you are looking for a one-night stand sexual partner."

Gaara spat out his saké immediately.

"Sai!" Sakura said angrily as she punched him in the arm. Sai looked at her blankly, asking wordlessly what he had done wrong _now_.

As Sakura dragged Sai away to the opposite end of the table she called, "Sorry, Gaara. He's not very good with people."

_Figures._

The Kazekage poured out another shot of saké as he watched, almost like a ghost, who he would call his colleagues at the end of the night, well, the one's that weren't laughing and joking the night away. All that he could wish for was someone to save him from this deadly loneliness. He was suddenly awoken from his reverie when the door to the bar opened again. Two former members of Team Gai stepped in.

"Hey guys!" Naruto called as he meandered towards them, and led them back to the group table.

The two shinobi sat where Sai and Sakura had been sitting before. Tenten sat immediately beside Gaara, and Lee sat beside her. The kunoichi helped herself to a serving of saké, asking if Lee wanted to have some, which he respectfully declined.

"But Tenten, can't you remember what happened last time I had some alcohol?" Lee said, arousing Gaara's curiosity.

Tenten rolled her eyes and took a swig of her drink, "Of course, how could I ever forget?" she replied almost sarcastically.

Gaara almost felt possessed to ask why Lee was not allowed to drink, but against his will, his lips refused to move. "No, that _couldn__'__t_ be _it_," Gaara thought to himself. Lee didn't seem to be the type of person who would jeopardise a friendship just for sex, but the more Gaara eavesdropped on their conversation, the more his fears grew.

"So where are you going on your next mission, Lee-kun?" Tenten asked as the bushy browed shinobi took a sip of his ice cold water (as he was forbidden to have any alcoholic beverage unless the village or his comrades were in any kind of mortal danger.)

Gaara's pulse quickened. The last time Gaara had been in Konoha, he remembered very vividly that Tenten did not use any kind of honorific, not even _kun _when addressing Lee. He took another sip of his saké.

"Actually Tenten, there's something I've being wanting to talk to you about." he replied. Tenten clasped her hands together and listened intently.

"I've spoken to Naruto-kun, and he has managed to get a mission for me and you...," he paused as he looked across the table at the two empty seats where Ino and Kiba had been sat.

Lee gently nudged Gaara who had been staring at the two empty spaces, whilst subtly eavesdropping on Lee and Tenten's seemingly intimate conversation.

"Gaara-sama, did you see where Kiba and Ino went?" asked the green clad shinobi.

Dazed by Lee's sudden strike in conversation, Gaara replied, "They disappeared about an hour ago."

Lee scratched his head and turned back to Tenten, "Well, isn't that strange?"

Tenten sighed, "You really are oblivious, aren't you?"

In fact it was not just Lee who was naïve when it came to romance, in fact, Gaara was too. In the men's toilets, the missing shinobis in question, were inside having what could only be described as drunken sex. Every time the doors opened, the barman could hear moans and groans accompanied with Ino's occasional sayings, "Fuck me! Fuck me harder!" The man tried to block the sounds out.

Suddenly, across the table, Naruto whispered something in Hinata's ear, making her blush more than she normally did.

"Guys! Me and Hinata are gonna take off now," he announced, trying to contain his teenage boy giggling, despite being a twenty year old man.

Hinata waved goodbye to the table, and then the Uzumaki's left the bar.

Gaara slumped in his chair. The only people who had engaged in conversation with him in the course of the evening so far, was Sai. Could his conversation with Sai even be classed as a social interaction? And then there were the minor word exchanges with Sakura, Naruto and Lee. Gaara refilled his glass of saké and glanced at the bar clock, 11PM. He took a swig of his drink; _it __was __going __to __be __a __long __night_.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>Out of nowhere, Ino and Kiba returned to the table, Ino tried to flatten her hair down whilst Kiba poured them both another drink. Sakura narrowed her eyes, stretched and then whispered something into Sai's ear that caused them both to shoot towards the door like a bullet.<p>

"Bye guys!" Sakura called as Sai scooped her up in his arms as he kicked the door open.

"I'm beat too," Ino yawned, looking not-very-subtly at Kiba, who smiled back at her.

"Me too. Hey, why don't I walk you home?" he asked, taking the kunoichi's hand.

In the space of half an hour, three heterosexual couples had abandoned Gaara. In a dirty little bar. Tucked away in the heart of Konoha. During the biggest thunderstorm of the summer. After Ino and Kiba had departed, Neji took a seat beside Tenten who was teetering on the edge of passing out. And too much later, she actually did. Neji took her arm and coiled it around the back of his neck, and gently swung the kunoichi up into his arms.

"Neji?" she mumbled.

"I'm going to take her home now. Lee. Good night."

Lee looked up at the Hyuga and smiled, "She is very lucky…to have a boyfriend like you."

Gaara's heart skipped a beat. Lee wasn't dating Tenten? At first he felt relieved after spending most of the night eavesdropping on them, and taking every statement that implied they were together, but now that he knew Lee was a single man...there was nothing to stopping him from sleeping with the man.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Gaara-kun," Lee beamed at Gaara.


	5. Chapter 4

Beta'd by Rockleerox93.  
><strong>Usual<strong>**disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me.  
>WARNING: use of expletives and sexual references.<p>

CHAPTER FOUR

"So… Gaara-kun, what do you want to talk about?" asked Lee with his hands cupping his face, shining a smile at Gaara.

"I just… it's nothing," Gaara replied.

Lee frowned, "That doesn't sound like nothing."

"Okay, what the hell, I'll tell you," said Gaara, causing Lee to clap his hands together with excitement.

"You know that I'm a jinchuriki… well, the Shukaku has a mating season and the beast is inside of me, therefore it means… I have a mating season too." Gaara averted his eyes from Lee's large shiny brown ones.

"Gaara-kun, I'm not quite sure what you're getting at," he said scratching his head.

"I spoke to Naruto about this after I arrived in Konoha, and he said that he had the same problem once."

Lee moved his face closer to Gaara, "And what did he say?"

"Sex is the only way to deal with it."

"Oh," said Lee as he slowly moved his face away from Gaara.

The Kazekage turned back to Lee, reached out and cupped his chin and brought him back close to his face, engaging him in a deep kiss. Gaara could feel his heart pounding against his chest; he could feel Lee's exhalations on his skin. He'd found it. He had found the solution to the Shukaku's mating season. Lee. Gaara moved his hand down onto Lee's thigh and began caressing it. He had to sleep with Lee.

_Tonight_.

Lee pulled away; he looked deeply into Gaara's eyes for a moment before getting up and making his way over towards the door.

"Sorry…I've got to go," he mumbled.

Gaara felt as if the Earth had swallowed him whole.

"Damn," he sighed.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>At around 12:30AM, the cherry redheaded shinobi left the bar. Wandering alone through the streets of Konoha back to his apartment, he constantly replayed a soliloquy of self-pity.<p>

Thankfully, the storm had passed and all that remained of it were lingering puddles of water. Inside, the Shukaku was livid and restless, scratching with its claws against the gate where his seal was.

"Pathetic! Pathetic!" it growled whilst bearing its teeth.

"Shut up!" growled Gaara.

He dragged himself up the narrow flight of stairs that led to the floor of his apartment, fumbling around in his pocket to find his keys. He then heard something quite unusual. He heard the quiet, muffled sound of snoring; he flicked on the light beside the door and saw Lee sound asleep against his door. Gaara tiredly rubbed his eyes, both irritated and confused as to why Lee was waiting for him. He'd completely freaked out at the kiss back at the bar and made a pathetic excuse to get out. Yet... here he was, asleep at his door. Gaara slipped the key into the lock and opened the door quickly to awaken the sleeping shinobi.

"Gaara?" Lee murmured, wiping away some drool from his cheek.

Gaara stood by the doorway, eyes narrowed at him with a hand firmly resting on his hip, "What the hell are you doing here, Lee?"

"I'm sorry about before, Gaara-kun," he replied as he stood up.

"It doesn't exactly give me an ego boost to get shot down like that."

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"I wasn't just looking for a quick fuck to fix this," Gaara said matter-of-factly.

"You caught me off guard. I didn't think you liked me, you know, like _that_," said Lee, his lips curled.

"The truth is...I've liked you for a long time, since the fight with Kimimaro. I admired you, I wanted to be you, I wanted to _be with you_," Lee moved towards Gaara and put a hand on his lower back and pressed their bodies together.

"That is if you want to be with me," said Lee as he initiated Gaara with a French kiss.

After several minutes of intense making out, Gaara pulled away, "Are you sure about this?"

Lee smiled, kissed him on the lips almost violently, and took his hand and led Gaara to the bedroom, "As sure as I could ever possibly be."

Gaara pushed Lee down onto the bed, firmly pressing his body against the other boy, he silently thanked Naruto for giving him a King sized bed for the duration of his stay. Lee ran his hands through Gaara's hair, biting his lips with kisses but not hard enough to inflict any damage on the Kazekage. Between kisses and gasps for air, Gaara unbuttoned and removed his shirt, and whilst fooling around on the bed, had found a zipper on the back of Lee's famous spandex jumpsuit. And there they laid, _naked_.

"Oh, Gaara-kun..." Lee moaned.

His heart was racing, his senses had been heightened and he felt as if he could do anything (or more specifically, anything to Lee.)

Lee shuffled slowly away from underneath Gaara, picked up his jumpsuit that lay strewn on the wooden old floor and returned a moment or so later with a small bottle. Gaara looked at Lee with a curious expression.

"Do you always keep lube on your person?"

"Only when I happen to know that you are in town," replied Lee.

Lee squirted a good sized amount of lube into his palm and massaged it onto the Kazekage's family jewels. He shuddered slightly when he felt how cold it was against his skin.

"I'm presuming that you want to be the uke?" Gaara asked.

"Did you really think I would be the seme?" Lee replied as he wrapped his legs firmly around the red head's waist.

Lee pushed his finger into Gaara's entrance, causing the Kazekage to let out a moan of pleasure. Gaara laid heavy kisses across Lee's chest and rolled over so that Lee was on top, and Gaara was the one inside of him.

Gaara grabbed a chunk of the bed sheets on the bed, the pain in his fingertips creating as much pleasure as Lee's actions did, "Fuck me! Fuck me harder!"

Lee arched an eyebrow at the Kazekage as he paused for a moment, "Who are you? Ino?"

Together, they laughed with red hot flushed cheeks and continued in mutually satisfying the other. Soon afterwards, Lee collapsed from exhaustion onto the Kazekage, breathing heavily against his chest. Gaara felt his eyeslids getting heavy, shutting and then reopening almost immediately. He smiled at Lee's sleeping form. He was situated peacefully against his naked body and he too fell into a deep slumber.


	6. Chapter 5

Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER FIVE

A small breeze squeezed through the cracks in the window of the bedroom. Gaara wrapped the single white bed sheet tighter around his naked body. He rolled over slightly to where he assumed Lee would be, but instead he continued rolling until he met the edge of the bed.

**Thump!**

Lee was gone.

He rubbed his eyes wearily and ruffled his cherry-red hair as he fashioned the sheet into a wearable garment. He opened the bedroom door that led into the wide kitchen, dining, and living area. To his surprise; he saw the Orange Hokage and his wife casually making their guest-of-honour breakfast.

"Na-Naruto?" Gaara stammered as he made his way over towards the blond who sat around the small dining table, happily eating Hinata's miso soup.

Naruto stood up to greet his friend, "How are you doin', friend?" he asked as he playfully punched Gaara's arm. Gaara did not find this meeting endearing.

"What are you doing here?" asked Gaara who was still in a daze with a killer hangover.

"Well, since you are a guest of the village, it only seems right that we treat you like one too. So Hinata has cooked up something for breakfast." Hinata turned around from the stove, smiled and blushed slightly after noticing that Gaara's sheet was far from opaque.

Naruto returned to his seat, scooped up a spoonful of miso soup and gestured for Gaara to join him.

Gaara took a bowl of miso soup and mimicked Naruto's actions as he massaged his forehead. In fact, Gaara was not much of a breakfast person, sugary and sweet foods did not appeal to him, but Hinata's miso soup was certainly not too sweet for him.

Naruto leaned over across the table and whispered, "Have you got a hangover?" Gaara nodded. Naruto smiled.

"Did you hook up with anyone?" Naruto asked.

Gaara glanced over at Hinata before responding, "Yes, I did with-"

Hinata shuffled towards the table and gently placed down a plate filled with cinnamon rolls, she looked at her husband and her eyes lit up.

"I-I'm sorry for interrupting," Hinata murmured as she took the seat between Gaara and Naruto.

"It's okay. I was thinking of having a shower now," said Gaara as he stood up and headed towards the bathroom.

"I'll have Sakura come over and get rid of that hangover for you!" Naruto called as Gaara slammed the bathroom door shut.


	7. Chapter 6

Naruto does not belong to me.  
>The exempt from the song 'Valerie' belongs to Amy Winehouse.<p>

CHAPTER SIX

After Gaara had finished in the shower, both Naruto and Hinata left and there were indications that Hinata had attempted (and Gaara used the word attempted _very __loosely_) to tidy the living area for their guest. He put on his other set of civilian clothing, a netted undershirt with a plain white shirt and a pair of black trousers along with the standard shinobi footwear. After dressing and towel drying his hair, he headed back into the living area and saw Sakura laid across the sofa with her legs dangled nonchalantly over the sofa arm. Upon seeing the Kazekage, she immediately stood up and smoothed down her hair and dress like he was a guest of honour for the weekend – not a friend.

"Hello Gaara," she said.

Gaara nodded, "Good morning Sakura."

Hesitantly, she moved closer towards him, "Did you sleep well?" Gaara smiled as he replayed the amazing night he had shared with Lee.

She moved back onto the sofa, gently patted by her side, gesturing for him to join her.

"Naruto tells me that you have a hangover… from last night." Gaara nodded.

She moved in closer and whispered to him, "So do I."

She brought her hands up to Gaara's temples, and when they made contact against Gaara's skin he jerked backwards.

She rolled her eyes subtly, "It's nothing to be scared of," she said, almost soothingly.

She placed her fingertips on his temples, closed her eyes and focused her healing chakra specifically onto the ends of her fingertips. It was a strange sensation. When Gaara's eyes darted around the room, he could see a small blue glow in the corner of his eyes.

"I'm healing your cells," she paused for a moment, her green eyes meeting his, "If you were wondering."

After another minute, she removed her fingertips from Gaara's forehead and smiled, "All done."

"Thank you," Gaara muttered as he quickly made his way to the front door. He needed to clear his head. And find Lee.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>As he descended the building's staircase, he noted that as for as far as the eye could see, there was a sliver of blue in the sky. Not a single cloud in sight. As he looked down onto the streets below, he could see several workers fixing the plumbing in their place of employment whilst others were emptying buckets of rain water onto the streets. Making his way near a shop, he stood for a moment. To his left he could see the Hokage building (and after the fiasco earlier in the morning, Gaara did not want to see Naruto, well...not for a while anyway) and to his right underneath the wooden red arch, was the Yamanaka floristry shop. He headed toward the flower shop and peeked through the bell shaped doorway to see if Ino was in. The kunoichi was standing behind a workbench arranging a bouquet of lilies; her hips were swaying gently as she sung a popular music song to herself.<p>

"And I miss your ginger hair and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over? Stop making a fool outta me! Why don't you come on over Val~erie!"

Gaara briefly glanced at his own red hair, "Is my hair ginger?" he thought to himself. Ino had now begun clicking to keep in with the beat, and picked up one of the lilies for a prop as a microphone.

"'Cause since I've come on home and my body has been a mess and I miss your ginger hair and the way you like to dress," she spun around whilst she was caught up in a pop star fantasy. Soon enough though, she saw Gaara standing by the door looking confused.

She immediately put the lily back with the others, and blushed at Gaara, "Can I help you, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara ran his fingers through his hair, the same way that Lee had done in the early hours of the morning, which mimicked on Lee's shiny brown locks... "Ginger hair?"

Ino gasped, "Oh! You thought I was singing about you? Your hair is really more of a cherry-red than a ginger." she chuckled.

Gaara nodded slowly, "Right, thanks for clearing that up."

"So, is there anything I can help you with? Want me to make you up a bouquet for a special _lady_?" Ino was now standing beside the Kazekage with a single pink lily in her hand.

"No, but thank you. And you and Kiba… make a very nice couple," Gaara said as he turned back to the door and headed west down the main street.

* * *

><p>OoO<p>

* * *

><p>Adjoined to the floristry was Ichiraku's. Gaara was amazed that Naruto had married Hinata instead of Ino seeing that her family business was beside his most favourite place in the entire village. As Gaara passed the ramen bar, he was overwhelmed by the smell of stewing meat and various exotic spices. Down the alleyway of Ichiraku's was <em>the <em>_bar_. The bar in question where he had downed about 4 shots of saké the previous night, the bar where he had told Lee of his problem, the bar that prompted Lee to have sex with him in order to please the Shukaku. He walked briskly past the alleyway as if he was cleansing himself of a bad memory. As he made his way to the bridge that overlooked the Nanko River, he took the time to enjoy some of nature's smallest, yet, most beautiful traits. Like the delicate birds' singing a sweet summertime melody, and the cool breezes passing effortlessly by and the Sun's warmth on his skin. The towering lush of green mountains that laced the boundaries of the Hidden Village made a gorgeous view...

Captured in a daydream, the Kazekage spotted Sai on the other side of the bridge. After the events that unfolded last night, Gaara felt hesitant to strike up a casual conversation with the artist. "Surely he couldn't be like that _all __the __time,__" _Gaara argued to himself as he approached the man in question.

"Good morning…Sai," said Gaara with gritted teeth.

Sai turned and looked blankly at Gaara's feet for a moment before focusing on his face. "Good afternoon, Kazekage-sama."

"Afternoon?" Gaara retorted.

"Yes Kazekage-sama. I believe it is no longer morning, and so the greeting you gave me was incorrect," replied Sai with a fake smile.

It was then that Gaara felt a prickle of rage starting to build up within. It was the kind of rage he experienced when someone made him look like a fool, or didn't get their mission report to him on time, but right now, it was mainly the rage he saved for troublesome people like Sai.

"Fine," growled Gaara, "Have you seen Lee?"

The other shinobi looked at Gaara for a moment with suspicion, wondering what business the Kazekage had with Rock Lee. He turned back to look at the river.

"I believe Lee-san is in the training area. You will be able to reach the area if you continue heading east from here."

"Thank you," Gaara muttered as he power walked his way across the bridge.

After crossing the bridge, he came across a small bookstore with an anxious shinobi waiting outside muttering to himself, "Dammit! Where is she?"

And there it was. The grand green gates of Konoha.

Gaara quickened his pace as the wide dirt path that began at the gates quickly narrowed into a grassy training area where Lee was believed to be.


	8. Chapter 7

Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The summer heat beat down intensely on the village of Konoha, as midday approached the temperature continued to soar. Gaara crossed the small wooden bridge that passed over a small, cool watered stream. He squeezed through the small hole in the meshed fencing and scanned the clearing for Lee. He walked slowly towards the middle of the clearing, glancing between the small pool area and the dirt covered clearing.

"Lee!" he called, feeling silly for even doing so. He had never been the type of person to look for someone else; he was always the one that others were looking for. He shuffled towards the small pool on the opposite side of the clearing, marvelling as the sunlight glimmered against the water's surface. Gaara then remembered the conversation he had with Naruto when the blond had visited Sunagakure three weeks back on official business.

"_I know it can get pretty hot in Sunagakure during the summer," Naruto said as he looked out of the window that oversaw most of the village._

_Gaara nodded, "In recent years June has had temperature soar over 30 degrees Celsius."_

_Naruto gasped like a small child, baffled by what Gaara had just told him, "Wow! Really? Sounds pretty bad. Hey! Why don't you spend the weekend in Konoha? When's the hottest day? Sometime in June?" _

When the invitation was made, Naruto consulted with the Meteorology team to find out what the weather would be like during Gaara's stay. They had almost got everything right, except the thunderstorm last night. Right now, the temperature in Konoha was around 27 degrees Celsius, and the humidity was becoming more uncomfortable for the fully clothed Kazekage. He smiled wickedly at the water, nobody was around, so he decided to strip and went for a quick dip in the pool to cool off.

As he met the edge of the water, he dipped his left foot into the water and let out a moan of pleasure. He pulled off the long sleeved black shirt that Naruto had given him, and slid his black trousers off in a seductive fashion (not that there was anybody watching.) As he descended slowly into the water, he took in a breath and dove into the unknown. When he returned to the surface, the water slowly tricked from his chest and meandered down, tracing his abs. He ran his fingers through his cherry red hair when something, _someone_, caught his eye. The floppy, shiny haired brunette wearing a green spandex jumpsuit was in one of the corners of a training area, kicking a small tree.

Gaara swam back to where his clothing was, but instead of dressing, he pulled himself out of the pool (all the while, still naked) and made his way over towards Lee.

"Lee!" he called as he pushed aside some of the vegetation that concealed Lee's position. No response.

"Lee! It's me!" Lee turned and squinted at him and threw a kick at the Kazekage's chest.

Alarmed from this act of hostility, Gaara jumped aside and dodged another of Lee's kicks.

"Lee! What are you doing?" he cried as he darted around to avoid Lee's attacks.

"You are an intruder in my village and I shall not rest until you leave!" Lee shouted, sending shivers down Gaara's spine.

"Lee! Lee! It's me, Gaara! I am a guest in this village," he said as he dropped to the floor, Lee looked around in daze, baffled as to where his opponent had disappeared to.

"Gaara-sama would not be in this part of the village. Who are you?" asked Lee, who was flailing around to find his opponent.

Gaara, who was pressed up against the dirt, hooked his arm around Lee's ankle and pulled him down towards him. Once Lee was taken down, Gaara stood up and pressed his foot down hard on Lee's chest to restrict his movements.

"Let me go!" Lee squealed.

"I am the Kazekage, Gaara of Sunagakure, born January 19th, and once saved Rock Lee's life in pursuit of Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara removed his foot and slowly walked away from Lee.

Lee looked longingly up at the blurry figure which was Gaara, "Gaara-kun?"

Gaara stopped and turned back to Lee, failed to notice a tangled vine in his path which tripped him and caused him to fall onto Lee. They remained perfectly still for a moment, until Gaara could heard a voice calling for Lee. He quickly pushed himself off Lee and ran back to where he had left his clothes. The voice in question belonged to Tenten, who passed Gaara without a glance and ran straight for Lee. After Gaara had put his clothes back on, he walked towards Lee and Tenten.

"Naruto-sama wants to see me? Now?" Lee asked as Tenten caught her breath.

"Yes," she said between breaths.

"Did he say why?" asked Lee.

"No, he said he just wanted to see you as soon as possible."

"Well! I cannot refuse an order from the Hokage!" he bowed to both Gaara and Tenten to excuse himself, and ran back to the hole in the fencing of the training area.

"Tenten, when I came here to see Lee he started attacking me. I was hoping you could tell me why," Gaara asked the kunoichi once Lee disappeared.

"Oh, Lee wears contacts," Tenten replied coolly.

Gaara frowned, "Contacts?"

Tenten nodded, "When Naruto became the Hokage he insisted that all shinobi with impaired vision be able to fight. It was an initiative he passed when we learned more about the effects of overuse of the Sharingan."


	9. Chapter 8

Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Gaara wandered back through the village alone. After Lee had been summoned to see Naruto, Gaara had stayed inside of the training area thinking Lee's discussion would only take minutes, but those minutes were hours.

"Perhaps Lee was assigned to go on a mission outside of the village for a while," Gaara thought to himself as he strolled through the empty evening streets. A full moon lit up the sky beautifully. The canine howls from the Inuzuka clan compound, the soft fluttering sounds of the wind stirring up leaves, the approach of night was on its way, but still, there was no Lee.

The light beside the door of his apartment created a soft orange glow that flickered as he twisted the key in the lock. He sighed as he made his way over towards the kitchen; a wave of disappointment overcame him as all that remained in the refrigerator was the leftovers from Hinata's breakfast. Whilst otherwise occupied with looking for another source of food in the refrigerator, Gaara failed to notice the shadowy figure in the darkness waiting for him to return home. He breathed heavily and drew out a pair of shuriken from his holster, the two metal weapons rubbing against one another.

Gaara wasn't naïve; he knew that sometime during his trip he would be ambushed. A simple act of reconciliation would never be enough to bury those bitter feelings after Sunagkaure's attack on Konoha. The shuriken pierced the wooden cupboard nearest to the refrigerator; Gaara leapt back to the door and the shadowed figure stood up and threw another shuriken. As the shuriken sped towards his face, Gaara summoned some sand to defend him against the attack. He reached for the light switch only to see that Lee was the figure in the shadows. His eyes were red and sore like he'd been crying.

"Lee?" Gaara said almost hesitantly. Lee remained silent as he forced the Kazekage in a chokehold. Their eyes met for a moment, but all the love and affection that was once shared between them was gone. Lee let Gaara go and collapsed into a heap on the floor.

"You," Lee muttered like Gaara's name was a curse inflicted upon his lips. Gaara crouched down beside him, concerned, "Tell me Lee, what is wrong?"

"Naruto told me to come here tonight," he bit his lip and looked away from Gaara's gaze, "and asked me to…"

Gaara looked frantically at Lee, "What?"

"Sleep with you," he spat.

"Why did he ask you to do that?" Gaara asked in a daze.

Lee narrowed his eyes at the Kazekage, "You didn't tell him about us." One look was all that it took for Lee. He stood up and forced his way past Gaara who was crouched down in front of the door.

"I was going to!" Gaara cried.

"Save your lies! I know you're ashamed of me!" Lee, who was much stronger than Gaara had expected, had already forced his way out of the apartment.

"Hinata was there when I was going to tell him!" cried Gaara. But it was too late, Lee was gone.

* * *

><p>Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter! I hit the document upload limit, so I couldn't post any new material. Also, Happy Christmas fellow GaaLee shippers~!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER NINE.

Gaara didn't know how to feel after Lee left. He'd been abandoned before, despised, loathed, but somehow that had all made him stronger. But with Lee leaving like that last night...it left Gaara feeling weaker and more vulnerable than ever. Trying to win him back seemed futile. Gaara had never seen Lee so hurt, not even when he had deliberately tried to kill Lee more than once. They had somehow put aside their differences and shown to the other that even after all of that madness, they could work things out. Gaara had never wished to change the past, but right now he was willing to turn back the clock to tell Naruto about Lee. Maybe then his lover would have stayed.

When Lee was with him it was as if the world ended and they were together forever. No dirty side glances from passers-by on the streets at the mere sight of them holding hands. It felt like a paradise where their love would never be judged. Perhaps the vulnerability he now felt was slowly changing him for the better. Now that he had let his guard down for Lee he could let others who meant a lot to him into his unlocked heart. He had a habit of chasing off those who held a pursuit of finding some way into that locked heart of his. He was a man with a heart of stone that could never be hurt or betrayed by anyone, but that was before Lee.

Lee was the man who could change it all. Gaara threw the bed covers off in a fit of anger; he'd been up all night worrying about what events would unfold when he would next see Lee. Ever since he had learned how to control the Shukaku and its urges, he had mastered the ability to get a decent night sleep; Gaara had always been the stronger of the two. He wearily rubbed his eyes, he didn't know why since he hadn't gotten any sleep since Saturday morning, but he knew that in a few hours he would be back on the road to Sunagakure. He didn't know when he would next be invited to stay in Konoha, especially after what he had done to Lee. He wouldn't be surprised if Naruto never invited him back in for screwing one of his Konoha shinobi. He opened the small window adjacent to his bed, clear blue skies once again. Not a cloud in the sky. He looked down at the distasteful screwed up bed sheets that lay on the floor. He picked them up and straightened them out before tucking the sheets firmly along the sides of the mattress. He brushed the clothes he wore when he arrived on Friday, which he kept under the bed, and dressed at 11AM. He would leave soon after.

After leaving his apartment, he decided that he would wander aimlessly through the village until he absolutely had to leave. Then something out of the norm appeared to be happening to Gaara. When he passed Yanamaka florists, he noticed that Ino wasn't there. At first, this didn't strike Gaara as unusual (he presumed that she was making sweet, sweet love with Kiba) until he passed Ichiraku's and Naruto wasn't there. The BBQ restaurant, Chouji wasn't there. As he crossed the bridge, there wasn't a single boat in sight. Sakura wasn't at the medicinal herb marketplace and Kakashi wasn't at the local bookstore. Something was definitely wrong.

Gaara tried to convince himself that this was all just some strange coincidence, that perhaps for some reason, for once in their lives, the Konohan's were _actually_ doing some work. The air felt cooler and crisp, more so than yesterday anyway. He headed straight for the village gates. He didn't feel like giving his goodbyes.

* * *

><p>Happy New Year readers~!<p> 


	11. Chapter 10

Naruto does not belong to me.

CHAPTER TEN.

"Perhaps they don't want to see me again," Gaara thought to himself. He walked with a slightly slouched posture as he approached the gates of Konoha. As he looked out at the vast forests that laid outside of the village, he could see white clouds fluffing up in the sky.

"Gaara!" the call startled him, Gaara turned to see Naruto smiling beside him. He walked back towards the other familiar faces Gaara recognised, Hinata, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Sai, Kiba, and Ino. And...was that_ Lee?_

Naruto held out his hand for Gaara, and after a firm handshake, the Hokage welcomed the Kazekage back for another stay if the Sunagakure heat ever became too much for him. Hinata gave a small bow to the Kazekage and said with a smile, "It was nice to see you again, Gaara-sama."

Sakura rubbed his shoulder and said, "It's been quite a weekend you've had."

Sai stood beside Sakura and in fear of both Sai and what he would say; Gaara skipped his farewell with him. He shook hands with Kiba, Ino, Tenten and Neji. Last but not least was Lee, standing at the end of the line wearing a sour expression. They stood looking at one another, neither one of them wishing to break the silence between them, or bring up the events of the previous night. Gaara wanted to say something, anything to him that would make things better between them, but whatever he thought to say didn't seem good enough. Perhaps Lee was right, maybe Gaara was actually afraid of telling others of his commitment to Lee. Even if it didn't initially seem that way, Gaara knew that in the deep dark depths of his heart, he would willingly scream at the top of his lungs that he did indeed love Lee.

"Lee," his name escaped his lips involuntarily. Lee's glance turned to a glare.

He took a deep breath as he looked Lee straight in the eye, emerald eyes and shiny ebony met in a gaze over the vast gulf of space that separated them.

"Lee, I am truly sorry for what happened last night." Gaara could faintly hear hushed whispers from the others intently listening in on their conversation.

"The truth is-" Gaara paused after hearing a loud rumble of thunder several miles away. A grey blanket covered the blue skies above Konoha, Lee crossed his arms tightly across his chest as if he was prepared to hear the Kazekage out.

Gaara bit his lip and let his inhibitions loose, "The truth is that I've been in love with you from the moment I met you!"

Gaara's heart was pounding, his palms sweating as if he were a mad man. Lee looked at Gaara for a moment with a softer expression. He smiled and threw himself in Gaara's arms. Gaara held him close, as if he never wanted Lee to let go. A small droplet of rain landed on Gaara's cheek, he flinched and cupped Lee's chin and kissed him. As the rain continued to pour down from the skies their kisses became more passionate.

When Gaara paused for air, he took Lee's hand and asked, "Would you like to come over to Sunagakure in the winter?"

"I'd like that."

* * *

><p>We've now come to the end of Gaara and Lee's ~<em>summer of love~ <em>I would like to thank everyone who left a review and read all ten chapters! Thanks again to **Rockleerox93** for being my beta for this story!


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